The value of a college degree

Last week, the Center for Public Education released a comparative study of international college attainment rates, which reinforced what other research has found: a smaller proportion of America’s twenty and thirty-somethings are getting college degrees than other countries and their own parents. There are myriad reasons behind this decline— we were at one point, the top producer of college graduates in the world— and one of the most cited barriers to earning a college degree is the rising cost of tuition.

While few dispute the necessity of postsecondary education in the pursuit of a well-paying job, more and more are questioning whether traditional four year degrees are still worth it. The Economistapproached the subject in a provocative piece last week that declared American universities represented declining value. Meanwhile, Academic Earth presents this nifty infograph that keeps the comparisons of return on investment within the U.S., looking instead to the salary differences of private and public university graduates.